“What should I do?” Hana demanded from Go-eun over the phone was presently in Seoul but will come home to Daegu for Chuseok.“Wait! Are you telling me you’re dating Suho?”“YES!”“Is Doomsday coming?” Go-eun teased her.“What?!”“I mean… FINALLY! You two are like the weirdest couple I ever met. It’s evident how you like each other and just stamped me why you’re not together.”“C’mon help me out here, Go-eun. That’s already past and has been settled. What should I do now? Chuseok is a week away!”That’s why girlfriends and boyfriends prefer to go home to their hometown rather than attending their partner’s event. Well, you can’t back out now. Let me think.”“What?”“First of all, CALM DOWN. It’s not like you’r
The house was dark with no trace of anybody inside. In his hand, a mountain of postcards and bills from the mailbox. For the first time, after a long time, he felt a grasp of warmth and contentment despite the blackness. It helped that he knew the ins and outs of their house, but more substantially, it was a settling feeling that all was in its proper place, despite not seeing the road in front of him or where it’s headed. Turned on the master switch, wiped off the perspiration from his eyebrows, and Suho careened inside the strangely quiet room. He shoved the gym bag on the nearest chair and sat on an empty chair in the living room, sifting through the pile of letters and bills in their mailbox. A habit he took over from his mom after discovering a few interesting mails. From time to time, they’d still get fan mails for his dad. And he’d hold on to them, keeping all to himself, rather than showing them to his mom. It prompted him to reply to some of these letters, acknowledging them
After all the stopovers and unprecedented vehicular accidents on the highway, they eventually made it to Mrs. Lee’s hometown. The group arrived at the coastal town close to midnight. The streets were dark, without a soul in sight. “Hana, let’s go to the beach in the morning,” Suho glimpsed at her. “Yeah, unnie. Let’s go for a picnic.” “Isn’t the water cold?” Hana asked. “Yeah, but we don’t have to swim. We’ll just play in the sand, duh!” “Duh? Where on earth did you get that, Naeun? I think you’re watching too much TV these days,” Mrs. Lee chimed in, making everybody laugh at her plight. After a few minutes of navigating dark streets, the mood shifted. Seojoon creeped out the girls as he recounted some folklore legends and stories as Suho turned to dark corners and miles of dark fields and forests, void of any human presence. He made it look like a town in an eerie, horror movie, adding sound effects making Hana and Naeun shriek in fear. The boys bursting into laughter. And Mrs
“You’re so mean.” Hana shot an evil eye at Suho who couldn’t help but snortle the entire time. After breakfast, everybody broke off to their own assignments. Suho changed into his go-to ensemble, a basketball jersey over a white shirt and khaki pants. He became the assigned driver for her aunt who’s going to the market to buy the other ingredients for Chuseok. “Let’s meet here after two hours,” his aunt stated after dismounting from the car. While waiting, the two strolled by the sea watching the seagulls fly and boats ducked. Not far from where they stood was a lighthouse. “Let’s go there,” Suho pointed at the lighthouse, grabbed Hana’s wrist, and ran to where the lighthouse was. “Oppa, wait,” breaking into laughter, running alongside him, her dress flowing with the wind Suho halted halfway through leaving Hana perplexed. “Stay here, I’ll take pictures of you.” Bringing out the polaroid camera from his knapsack. “Okay,” Hana flickered her eyes, puzzled but followed his lea
“Is there a lifetime waiting for us?” Hana asked herself as she watched Suho go about helping in the preparation for Chuseok. She had been very sure of her emotions but the thought of the red mailbox gave her goosebumps she can’t explain. An impending departure that could test their relationship, was that it? “Unnie, come play with us,” Naeun urged, snatching her wrist and tugged her in the group of youth playing games. “But aren’t we supposed to help them?” Pointing at the elderly ladies making rice cakes. “No. Don’t worry about that. Let’s enjoy it while we can. Tomorrow is D-day but tonight is OUR night.” Hana sat next to Naeun and her cousins playing games at the height of the night. She glanced around and saw how carefree they were compared to kids in the city. They can be contrasted to her cousins who would meet separately from the older folks just to evade their endless banters and nagging. She was told that they have a full day the succeeding day. From preparing meal for